Editing Star League (section)

== Military ==
In general the policy of House Cameron would be to try to get the Inner Sphere to demilitarize as a matter of principle. Mostly through diplomacy and other soft means. A typical pitch would be something along the lines of ''"Things are peaceful nowadays and 'Mechs and WarShips are expensive, dude. We got the [[Lyran Commonwealth|Lyrans]] to scale back their stuff last year and you'll look like a jerk if you didn't cut back a little, ya know. Take a chill pill, give your subjects a tax break and we'll go party on Canopus. Howbout that?"'' [[noblebright|and for the most part, it worked.]] 

But for those occasions when diplomacy failed, Star League had the Star League Defense Force (think of a mix of the French Foreign Legion with the UN Peacekeeping Force and you get the idea). Recruiting from all Star League member states, the SLDF grew into the biggest military in the galaxy, and not only did they have the best training, people, and equipment, they had 'Mechs so good it blew everyone else's out of the water. They had the first assault-class 'Mech with fucking jump jets. That's how good they were. They also, somehow, managed to largely be more loyal to the Star League than their parent nations.  Sure, there were units that went running to daddy when the assholes started tearing apart humanity, but by and large the SLDF stayed united.

After the Fall of the Star League and unwilling to get involved, the majority of what SLDF forces under the command of Alexander Kerensky left the Inner Sphere for parts unknown. [[The Clans|In the Deep Periphery, they would follow their own radically different course of cultural evolution]].

==== Notable Mechs ====
* '''''Annihilator''''': An UrbanMech on steroids and growth hormones developed in the Star League's final years, designed as a mobile city defense platform. Slow as an Urbie, but whatever gets within its range will be blasted to bits by its four LB-X AC/10s and lots of lasers, including a pair of Pulse lasers. Never saw proper use in the Inner Sphere as Kerensky took the prototypes with him to Clan space. Unaware of this fact, the Wolf's Dragoons introduced modified variants of them to the Spheroids, which brought quite a bit of suspicion upon them as most people had never seen an Annihilator. Despite the hilarious gaffe, the Annie's lethality has never been questioned, especially after they became widespread during the Jihad.
* '''''[[Atlas]]''''': The best known Star League 'Mech and BattleTech's mascot. Designed on Kerensky's orders both to keep the Great Houses in line and as a terror weapon, the Atlas is highly versatile, deadly and a tough nut to crack. Unlike most of the Star League's best toys and against Kerensky's wishes, most Atlases stayed in the Inner Sphere and remained in full production during the Succession Wars. Its most striking feature is its skull-shaped cockpit, known as the Death's Head. It has countless variants due to its widespread use.
** '''''Atlas II''''': An enhanced Atlas made to be exclusively used by the SLDF Royal Regiments. Unlike the default Atlas, it has a lot of Lostech weaponry and tech like an LB-X AC/10, medium Pulse Lasers and CASE protection for the torso. Its arsenal allows it to fight at longer ranges than the normal Atlas. Nearly all of them left the Inner Sphere with Kerensky after the fall of the Star League.
* '''''Black Knight''''': A frontline specialist Heavy 'Mech, famously a command staple thanks to it's advanced internals and ability to unload a hellacious Energy payload on unsuspecting companies while able to link up and coordinate battle strategy for their own. Another victim of the Succession Wars post-Star League, as the ability to make the electronics that helped it become a boon for commanders was lost. Later variants would almost entirely rip that stuff out in order to make it a more dangerous but one-dimensional combatant.
* '''''[[Crab]]''''': One of the deadliest Medium 'Mechs made in the Star League's final years. If not for its production issues, the ''Crab'' would've become the standard Medium mech of the SLDF. Designed as a raider and guerrilla fighter, the Crab has advanced and tough armor that allows it to survive the deadliest frontlines, an arsenal of energy weapons that can punch above its weight and frees it from the chains of resupply, and more than enough heatsinks to not burst into flames after firing its beams. The SLDF variant, the CRB-27b replaces its main weapons with a pair of ER Large Lasers and has Double heatsinks that ensure the 'Mech will never overheat unless it's in outer space.
* '''''[[Highlander]]''''': While Star League rule meant that dozens of different designs came to be around the time of Cameron Reign, absolutely no 'Mech embodied the sheer might and technological strength of the Star League like the TV-headed ''Highlander''. While it's Gauss Rifle and Missile launchers were formidable, this 90-ton beast became extremely well-known for being one of the most successful jump-capable Assault 'Mechs, to the point that a previously-desperate maneuver was innovated and weaponized from the concept of performing a jump and landing straight down on an unsuspecting foe. While it became known as Death From Above, during it's heyday the term used was "''Highlander'' Burial" due to being able to embed Light 'Mechs entirely into the ground on impact. Tragically, surviving examples of the original version are few and far between thanks to the Succession Wars.
* '''''[[King Crab]]''''': Few 'Mechs exemplify [[Rape]] as much as a ''King Crab''. These guys were made to kill whatever they met as quickly as possible with their two AC/20s. However, they have the disadvantage that their ammo reserves are tiny as fuck, so make those shots count. Kerensky took the majority of them with him, but quite a few remained for the Spheroids. They played a vital role in the Comguard's victory at Tukayyid.
* '''''[[Mackie]]''''': The first BattleMech in history. While they were considered relics in the Star League's time, they managed to make a quite deadly updated variant known as the MSK-9H that was armed with 2 PPCs and an AC/20. Even Kerensky himself loved these and wanted to take them with him to what would become Clan Space, but only managed to get a hundred of them.
* '''''[[Marauder (BattleTech)|Marauder]]''''': Only very technically a Star League design, as it was intended to be the first generation of new Mechs that would take the SLDF into the future, but became valuable parts of any group that could field them. It's a 75-ton powerful artillery platform with two PPCs, an AC/5, and two Medium Lasers; the ''Marauder'' can cause trouble at any range and take as much punishment as it dealt thanks to it's lamellar armor. Initially quite a difficult fight due to it's unique profile, it's more become known as one of the trademark 'Mechs of Named Inner Sphere characters alongside the ''Warhammer''. It's also one of the most famous "Unseen" due to its original design being based on Macross' Zentradi Glaug mech.
* '''''Mercury''''': Aging scout 'Mechs required a more elegant solution for the SLDF, and this 'Mech was born to combat the rigors of time being placed on their ''Stinger''s and ''Wasp''s. An otherwise typical 20-ton Light 'Mech used for scouting, what set the ''Mercury'' apart was it's revolutionary "Plug and Play" design for it's Small Lasers; allowing repairs to be done to those in a fraction of the time. It was this system that ultimately inspired the creation of the [[OmniMech]] for the Clans, who inevitably ended up the only people in the universe with the 'Mech after the Star League fell.
* '''''[[Warhammer (BattleTech)|Warhammer]]''''': In the grim darkness of the far future, only named characters ride a ''Warhammer''. Seriously, this 70-ton artillery platform is the one-stop destination for almost every major character in the game that don't end up in their nation's stereotype 'Mech or in a ''Marauder''. It does however acquit itself wonderfully in combat, as its two PPCs combined can do the same amount of damage as an AC/20 with twice the range, with an SRM to cover any other problems that might pop up in front of it.